Amortentia and re The morality of love potions/Merope and Tom Sr.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 152429


> Alla:
> 
> 
> Same with Tom Sr. Putting aside the fact that I cannot grasp how 
> drugged person should be able to make the rational decision, where do 
> you see the indication that Tom KNEW or at least SHOULD have been 
> able to know that his feelings for Merope are not real. 

Pippin:
Because, drugs or no drugs,  everybody who knows anything about love 
knows that their feelings might not be real.  Merope might be ignorant 
enough not to know that it's important to distinguish between love and 
infatuation even though they can feel the same -- *she* might
think she really loves Tom. But *he* should know, being an educated
and sophisticated young person, that, as Dumbledore told Harry 
some time ago, the very things we want most are often the worst 
for us. Now maybe the potion could have been so strong that it would 
force him to forget that. But that is speculation.

When Dumbledore told Harry not to look for the Mirror of Erised 
again, Harry  was able to take the advice, even though he was enchanted. 
I can see where a more arrogant person, say Malfoy, would have disregarded
Dumbledore, can you?

> 
> Alla:
> 
> Without Merope giving him potion the thought of taking those duties 
> on in the first place would have never entered his mind.


Pippin:

For me, the question is not how those thoughts entered his mind --
thoughts get into people's head in all sorts of ways. If he'd seen 
a naughty postcard, perhaps he wouldn't be able to avoid being
aroused and thinking he'd fallen in  love with the model, 
 but would he be forced to marry her if she asked him to, even if he 
thought his love was real? He could be drugged into it, but we just
don't know that the love potion has that effect.

We know the potion would make him think he was in love and that
Merope was an attractive woman. We don't know that it made him 
act on  those feelings in whatever way Merope wished, which would
be an effect like the Imperius curse. If  it did have that effect
I'd expect Voldemort to use it -- just put love potion in the water 
and everyone would have to obey him. :) 

Pippin